On minding your tongue andon staying on-topic when others fail to mind their own

SOCIAL ISSUES are rarely tackled with cool detachment.

That’s partly because much is at stake. It’s also partly because there are myriad ways to push for change, from “Please stop” to “Do that one more time and I’ll whack you across the head with an iron mace.”

Tend too close to the latter end of the continuum and you can bet that not a few voices will cry, “Can’t we engage in polite discourse?”

Gotta love this plain-talkin’ commercial

​“A bouncer in Birmingham hit me in the face with a crescent wrench five times. And my wife’s boyfriend broke my jaw with a fence post. So if you don’t buy a trailer from me, it ain’t gonna hurt my feelings. So come on down to Cullman Liquidation and get yourself a home. Or don’t. I don’t care.”

This commercial came out in 2009 but came to my attention only recently. I love it. That is, I love it as far as its entertainment value and gutsiness go. As far as marketing goes, well, all I can find is information about attention and hits—nothing about sales. If you learn what it did for Cullman Liquidation’s bottom line, please let me know.​